1099 & Alt-Doc Income
Your 1099 is the income. Not what’s left after write-offs.
Commission earners and contractors get punished twice: the write-offs that lower your taxes also lower the income a bank will count. These programs read the 1099 itself — the gross, less a disclosed expense factor — and the strongest published version reaches 90% of the home’s value — from a 680 credit score.*
Who this is built for
People paid on commission
Realtors, insurance producers, recruiters, sales reps — anyone whose 1099 shows the year honestly and whose Schedule C does not.
Independent contractors and consultants
Drivers, tradespeople, IT contractors, medical professionals on 1099 — paid by one company or several.
Anyone who just went from W-2 to 1099
One year of 1099 income can be enough — if it is the same line of work you did on salary. The two-year folklore has an exception, and this is it.
Self-employed people who’d rather not open the returns
If your income is deposits rather than 1099s, the bank-statement route has its own page — same family of programs, different document.
Not sure which document tells your story best — the 1099, the deposits, or a preparer’s P&L? That is exactly the ten-minute conversation, and picking right is most of the work.
Talk it throughA good accountant shrinks your income. A good lender should not hold that against you
The write-offs that lowered your taxes should not lower the house you can buy.
A good accountant makes your Schedule C small. A loan officer reading that Schedule C then tells you that you earn too little to buy a house. These routes break that loop:
And the part most people do not expect: the leverage is not the sacrifice. The strongest alt-doc rung on my shelf reaches higher than most W-2 borrowers ever ask for.
| What counts | The 1099 gross | Less a disclosed expense factor — fixed 10% on one route when the verification is silent, or your attested actual ratio |
| History required | Two years — with one exception | One year of 1099 is enough if you converted from W-2 in the same line of work |
| Debt-to-income ceiling | Up to 50% | The same ceiling many full-doc programs use — the document changes, the arithmetic does not |
Expense factors, history requirements and ceilings vary by lender and program and change without notice. Not all applicants will qualify.
How it actually works
Pick the document that tells your income’s story best. The math is disclosed up front.
The 1099s set the gross
Last year’s 1099s, payable to you personally. Multiple companies are fine if you can show you still work with them.
An expense factor sets the net
If your verification is silent on expenses, one route applies a fixed 10% — you keep 90% as qualifying income. If your real expense ratio is different, a preparer-attested P&L sets it instead.
Or skip the 1099s entirely
A 12-month P&L prepared and attested by a CPA or licensed preparer can carry the file alone. There is also a salary-only route built on a single employment verification, with its own tighter box.
Everything else is a normal mortgage
Credit, appraisal, title, closing. The document is the only unusual part — and the grids on this page are the proof.
What the leverage looks like
Four programs run this family, and they stop in very different places — each tab is a single program’s published grid, and figures from different programs never combine:
On the strongest published version, the 1099 column reads exactly the same as full documentation — no alt-doc penalty at any rung. Purchase and rate-and-term, owner-occupied:
| Credit score | Maximum loan-to-value | Loan size and occupancy |
|---|---|---|
| 680 and above | 90% | Up to $1 million — primary residence |
| 700 and above | 90% | Up to $1.5 million — primary residence |
| 720 and above | 90% | Up to $2 million — primary residence |
| 720 and above | 80% | Up to $2.5 million — 75% out to three million |
| 680 – 699 | 85% | Up to $1.5 million |
| 660 – 679 | 80% | Up to $1.5 million |
| 620 – 659 | 80% | Up to $1 million — 70% out to $1.5 million |
That first row deserves a second read: ninety percent financing, on a 1099, from a 680 credit score, at a loan size that covers most of the Miami market. Cash-out reaches 80% at the strongest band with no cap on cash in hand, second homes cap at 85%, and two-to-four-unit properties at 85%. Reserves scale with loan size — six months to $1 million, nine above, twelve past $2 million. Elsewhere on the shelf the same document reaches 90% to $2 million from a 700 score.† None of this requires tax returns; it requires the document you already have telling the truth about a good year.
From a single program’s published matrix effective 06/09/2026 — owner-occupied grid, in which the 1099 column reads identically to full documentation and bank statements. Maximum loan-to-value, minimum credit score, loan amount and occupancy are separate limits shown only in combinations that appear together in the source. Cash-out, reserve and documentation requirements differ by tier. Not all applicants will qualify.
A separate program corroborates the family, and it does not step down as the balance climbs — eighty percent holds from a 680 score all the way out to two and a half million:
| Credit score | Maximum loan-to-value | Loan size |
|---|---|---|
| 720 and above | 85% | Up to $1 million |
| 700 and above | 80% | Up to $2.5 million — 75% at three million |
| 680 – 699 | 80% | Up to $2.5 million — the same rung as a 700 score |
| 660 – 679 | 75% | Up to $1 million |
| 640 – 659 | 70% | Up to $2 million |
Two things about this program are worth knowing beyond the grid. It runs the same seven-route document menu — 1099s, both bank-statement flavors, two P&L routes, an employment-verification route, and asset utilization — so a file that starts on one document can often be rescued on another without changing lenders. And it is the same program whose credit-event ladder is published on the after-a-credit-event page: twelve months past a bankruptcy, this grid still lends at reduced leverage. A rough year and a 1099 income are not mutually exclusive, and this shelf treats them as separate questions.
From a separate program’s alt-doc matrix, Rev 06/16/2026, primary residence figures, purchase and rate-and-term; cash-out runs five points lower at most rungs. Figures from different programs never combine. Maximum loan-to-value, minimum credit score and loan amount are separate limits shown only in combinations that appear together. Not all applicants will qualify.
The grids above are about how deep the credit box goes. This one is about how far the PRICE goes — a 1099 carried into three-million-dollar territory, on a grid where the form rides alongside full documentation with no reduction:
| The file | Maximum financing | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Primary or second home — to $3 million | 85% | From a 680 score, on 1099s — no reduction against full documentation |
| Primary or second home — cash-out | 70% – 80% | 80% at a 720 score; 70% at 680 |
| Investment — to $2 million | 80% | From 680; 75% on cash-out |
| Primary or second home — to $2 million | 80% | From a 660 score — the same grid, carried down the credit range |
| What it asks in exchange | Seven years | No foreclosure, bankruptcy, short sale or deed-in-lieu in 7+ years, and no 30-day housing late in the last twelve |
That last row is the price of the first three, and it is the honest trade this tab exists to name. Three million dollars at eighty-five percent, qualified on 1099s, asks for seven quiet years rather than any extra paperwork — ratios to fifty percent, reserves of six months up to two million and nine above it, twelve on investment property. Two Florida notes worth having before an offer: short-term rentals are not eligible on this grid, and neither are non-warrantable condominiums. If your credit event sits inside that seven-year window, the first two tabs were built for you and one of them prices a 640 score openly. And if the score is the problem rather than the history, a separate program prints a 1099 rung at a 600 credit score.‡ And the ceiling on this page belongs to that same program — a band that carries a 1099 file to four million dollars.§
From a single program’s published matrix effective 07/14/2026 — the eligibility grid by occupancy, credit score and loan amount, purchase and rate-and-term except where cash-out is stated, with product overlays as printed on the same page. On this grid 1099 income and bank statements ride the published tiers; its P&L and asset-utilization columns do not and carry their own lower caps. Figures from different programs never combine. Maximum financing, credit score and loan amount are separate limits shown only in combinations printed together in the source. Not all applicants will qualify.
Every other tab here steps down as the loan gets larger. This grid does not — eighty percent holds from a 660 score at two million, and from a 700 score all the way out to three:
| Credit score | Maximum loan-to-value | Loan size |
|---|---|---|
| 720 and above | 89% | Up to $1.5 million |
| 700 and above | 85% | Up to $2 million |
| 680 – 699 | 85% | Up to $1.5 million — 80% out to $2 million |
| 660 – 679 | 80% | Up to $2 million — 75% out to $2.5 million |
| 700 and above | 80% | Up to $3 million |
| 700 and above | 70% | Up to $3.5 million |
Read the last two rows together: three million dollars at eighty percent, on 1099s, and a ladder that keeps publishing to three and a half. The conditions are specific and worth having early — debt ratios run to fifty-five percent, but past fifty the file must be owner-occupied with a 700 score and no first-time buyer; interest-only caps at eighty; rural property up to ten acres caps at seventy-five on a purchase; row homes are ineligible in every state; and there is a residual-income floor of $2,500 a month. One limit settles eligibility before any of the others are worth checking: in New York this program writes investment property only, so none of the figures above are available on a home you intend to live in there.
From a single program’s published matrix effective 08/13/2026 — the primary-residence grid by credit score and loan amount, purchase column, on which 1099 income rides the published tiers rather than a reduced column. Figures from different programs never combine. Maximum loan-to-value, credit score and loan amount are separate limits shown only in combinations printed together on one row of that matrix. That program restricts New York to investment property, and prints its own declining-market, appraisal, prepayment and property-type conditions. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
Coming off a rough year too? See the after-a-credit-event ladder →
* Strongest published 1099 rung on my current shelf: a single program’s matrix effective 06/09/2026 — 90% financing to $1,000,000, purchase or rate-and-term, primary residence, from a 680 credit score, with no reduction against full documentation. Figures from different programs never combine; programs change without notice. Not all applicants will qualify.
† From a separate program’s published matrix effective 08/05/2026: 90% to $2,000,000 from a 700 score — purchase, primary residence, its own overlays apply. Figures from different programs never combine.
‡ From that same separate program’s matrix: 80% financing to $1,000,000 from a 600 credit score — purchase, primary residence, with 1099 income riding the published grid rather than a reduced column. The lowest credit score published for this document on my shelf, and a printed rung rather than an exception. Figures from different programs never combine.
§ From that program’s same matrix effective 08/05/2026, its Core band at the top of the ladder: 70% financing to $4,000,000 from a 740 credit score — purchase, primary residence. Its companion band is not offered at that balance. Rate-and-term reads 65% and cash-out 60% at the same rung, and the figures step down sharply below a 740 score. Figures from different programs never combine.
The fine print that decides 1099 files
Income arrives as deposits instead? The bank-statement page →
What you actually hand over
Last year’s 1099s
Payable to you personally. All of them, if there are several payors.
A verification from the payor
Or, where expenses need pinning down, a 12-month P&L from a CPA or licensed preparer with the attestations above.
Two months of bank statements
Routine sourcing of funds — and on the salary-only route, statements supporting the income being claimed.
The normal file
Photo ID, twelve months of housing history, and reserves that scale with loan size.
Want the exact list for your file before you ever apply? Build your document checklist — the list changes with your answers, printable and yours to keep.
Where it wins — and the honest limits
Told straight, because this page is useless otherwise.
Qualifying income comes off the 1099 itself, less a disclosed expense factor — not off the number your Schedule C was written to minimize.
Where one route assumes a flat figure when the verification is silent, an attested actual ratio from a CPA or licensed preparer can replace it. That single line moves qualifying income more than anything else here.
On more than one grid here it rides the published tiers with no reduction against full documentation — including one that reaches three million dollars. The form changes; the ceiling often does not.
The strongest alt-doc rung on this shelf reaches higher than most salaried borrowers ever ask for. Documenting differently does not mean borrowing less.
Under a year of 1099 in a line of work you did not do on salary — the answer is not yet. Bank a year of statements and the deposit route opens.
Old 1099s from companies you no longer work with count for history, not for income. The verification step is where thin files stall.
That is what a deliberately narrow box does. If any part of your income is commission or rental, it is the wrong door — use the 1099 or P&L route instead.
The same honest line as every page in this family: alt documentation costs more than a W-2 file. What you buy with it is a yes that reads your actual income.
Find out what your 1099 qualifies for
The prequalification takes about six questions and treats 1099 income as income — not as a problem to explain. Or send me last year’s 1099 and I will tell you the qualifying number under both expense treatments before you ever fill out a form.
Questions people actually ask
Open the full Q&A — the expense factor, the verification, and the fine points ▾
+I’m a realtor paid entirely on commission. Does this work for me?
It is close to the canonical case. Your brokerage’s 1099 sets the gross, a verification confirms the relationship, and a fixed or attested expense ratio sets the qualifying income. Two years of 1099 history is standard; one year works if you sold on a W-2 before that.
+I switched from W-2 to 1099 last year. Am I stuck for two years?
Not if the work is the same. One program is explicit: one year of 1099 receipt qualifies when you converted from W-2 in the same line of work. A software engineer who became a contract software engineer qualifies; one who became a day trader waits.
+What expense ratio will be applied to my 1099?
On one route: a fixed 10% when the employment verification is silent on expenses — you qualify on 90% of the gross. If your true ratio differs, a P&L prepared by a CPA, enrolled agent or licensed preparer replaces the default with the attested number.
+Do I need an LLC — or does having one hurt me?
Neither. The 1099 route requires the form be payable to you personally. If your income runs through an entity instead, the business bank-statement route reads the entity’s deposits — different document, same family of programs.
+Can a P&L alone really qualify me, with no bank statements?
On one route, yes: a 12-month P&L ending within 90 days of closing, prepared and attested by a qualified third party who also attests independence. Some programs pair it with two months of statements. The preparer’s credentials are not a formality — they are the underwriting.
+How is this different from a bank-statement loan?
Same purpose, different document. Bank-statement programs read deposits and apply an expense factor to them; these routes read the 1099 or the P&L directly. Commission earners with clean 1099s usually get a cleaner file here; business owners with entity deposits usually fit the statement route — which has its own page.
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Loan programs, explained honestly
Programs described are offered through third-party lenders, are subject to lender approval and full underwriting, and change without notice. Leverage caps, credit minimums, loan amounts, expense factors and documentation requirements are separate limits, vary by lender and program, and are never available in combination across lenders. Figures reflect several separately published programs’ current materials, each cited beside the table, footnote or section it supports. Not all applicants or properties will qualify. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Opportunity.